Europe 2025 Part II

Apologies for the multiple emails.  I think I have it sorted now.  Ain't it amazing how you forget how to use something as simple as sending out an email with a link when you don't do it for a while.

You may remember our acronym for touring in the UK.  ABC - another blood church, another bloody cathedral, another bloody castle.  We have amended it to reflect travels in Italy and Spain . . . ABCM.  Definitely not ICBM which is what my head keeps saying, but ABCM.  Another bloody church, another bloody cathedral, another bloody castle, another bloody convent, another bloody coliseum and last but not least, another bloody Madonna.  Individually they are enlightening, informative, beautiful and often awe inspiring.  Collectively, I never really recognized that we, as human beings,  were so intent on recreating the same structures, institutions and art.  Of course, it's not just the number of Madonna(s). Spain and Italy are replete with temples dedicated to various Greek and Roman gods not to mention Jewish synagogues/temples, and Moslem/Muslim mosques, palaces and forts.  

More of a history lesson than you may wish but as an excuse to include some pretty amazing pictures our next stop in exploring coliseums and temples was in Siracusa (Syrcuse) with a visit to the Neopolis Archeological Park.  This complex is home to the Teatro Greco, originally constructed, or more accurately excavated by the Greeks in the 5th century BCE.  It was subsequently rebuilt/remodeled by the Romans somewhere in the 3rd century CE.  

The Latomia de Paradiso, in the same archeological park, is a limestone quarry which was the source of the building material for the emerging Greek (I think) city of Syracuse.  It is now a lovely area shaded by magnolia and citrus trees with pleasant walks and art installations.  However it's history is a little darker as it was used to house some 7,000 prisoners of a war between Syracuse and Athens.

In the spirit of ABCM another coliseum, if you will is within this site.  It is the Anfiteatro Romano, originally constructed to to host gladiator battles and horse racing.  The center of the amphitheater was a flat, elliptical area covered in sand, remember arena=sand.  There were steps, covered with marble slabs and divided into tiers so the spectators of different social standing did not have to mix. You can still see what was an underground corridor that had eight entrances to the main arena.  This is how the gladiators, wild animals and assorted other entertainments entered the arena.  

Europe 2025 Part I

 This trip began nearly two months ago in Taormina, Sicily, Italy.  Sicily was oh so much better than I ever expected.  The landscape is incredibly varied, volcanos, olive and citrus orchard, vineyards and mountains. 

Taoromina is a quaint little town and MAJOR tourist attraction.  It's up a very curvy road, like something out of a James Bond film, about 800 feet above the Mediterranean. The image below is a view from our classroom window.  

I have to admit, right upfront, many of these images are not mine.  You would think after all  these years of using a phone instead of a camera I would have mastered the technique of having something small and immediately available.  Not so.  Thank goodness others fill in the gaps for me.  

Back to Sicily.  We flew in to Catania early in the day and got a cab to Taormina and our hotel where we would meet up with our Road Scholar tour group.  The city, itself, dates back to the 4th century BCE when it was founded by the Greeks.  Subsequently it was occupied by the Romans, who lasted a couple of centuries only to give way to Byzantines, Arabs, and Normans.  This rolling collection of different peoples seems to be the history of most of Sicily.  Even Italy proper was nothing but an assortment of city states until 1861 when it became a kingdom and  1946 when it became a republic.  

We toured the Greek theatre, which later became a Roman theatre.  I would tell you all about the differences if I could remember . . . semi circular vs circular . . . carved out of a hillside vs constructed.  The piece I do remember is our word arena comes from Latin for sand which is what they put on the floor of coliseums to soak up the blood!

Next stop Mount Etna.  It's a volcano and still active.  You often see smoke and steam around the summit, that is when you can see it at all.  Actually I think that is it on the right side of the photo of the Greek/Roman theatre.  The cruise ships were in and there were tour buses and people like us with tour groups everywhere.  The wind was blowing so hard you could lean into it and not fall down, made it a little nerve wracking walking next to giant depressions. 

 

Calling it quits for now. I am totally out of practice at this.  

Hanging with Gayle & Mick 2024

 It's along while since I have sat down to write about our adventures.  It is not for lack of adventures, it's mostly that without pictures some of the magic is missing.  Traveling light means no camera bag and extra lenses.  But I have mastered the art of extended travel with just a carryon bag.  We recently returned from an eleven (11) day cruise to Alaska.  I promised a friend a list of what I took that fit in a 22 inch bag.  But first a little about cruising on a smallish ship, about 600 passengers. 

The cruise was lovely and just exactly that, "cruisin". With no more than 6 or 8 hours in port, and don't forget that can get eaten up with time being transported to the actual place you are visiting, doesn't leave much time for exploration. Fortunately most of the communities are pretty small. To be honest I was somewhat underwhelmed. Being a California girl gold rush towns are a dime a dozen and Alaskan frontier towns look just like California frontier towns. Makes sense, same sort of people, same natural resources, same expectations, just forty years later.

There are glaciers but we didn't get close enough to really appreciate them. This is Hubbard and it's something like 6 miles long. There are so many ships trying to enter the bay it appears there is a rota system and the time allotted to each ship as well as their route in and out of the bay is strictly controlled. No dawdling.

There are snow capped mountains and the mountains may come down to the sea, but they pretty much max out a 5000 feet. Not exactly the Sierras or even the Cascade volcanos. It's all lovely to look at and certainly worth the ride, just not awe inspiring.

Admittedly we booked with an upmarket cruise line, Oceania. Our original trip with Road Scholar was cancelled when the cruise line went out of business. The service was great, plenty of dining options with rational sized portions. Common spaces were plentiful, including a library that looked like something from a baronial mansion. There was a sizable lounge at the front that provided panoramic views of where you were going and they offered a proper British tea there each afternoon. We discovered if you hang around after tea 4-5 p.m. there are two for one cocktails from 5-6 and dinner at 7. Not too shabby.

Credit, where credit it due . . . there was always something to provide entertainment especially on the days at sea. There were lectures and a game room. Occasionally Bingo or Bridge lessons. Apparently there were even some craft activities which I missed. There was the requisite spa and gym, yoga classes and evening entertainment. Cruising is a very different experience. You unpack once, everything you need is right there. No real surprises, it's dependable and safe. There are more adventurous options out there but maybe I'm beyond the adventurous stage of life. Suffice it to say it was enjoyable, safe and comfortable if not exciting and I'm not adverse to trying it again.

Alaska 11 day Packed Wardrobe:

• Underwear for 11 days - panties, socks and bras
• 2 camisoles, in case it gets cold (I never wore them.)
• 1 raspberry cardigan
• 1 grape pullover sweater that can be worn over a shirt or mock turtle
• 1 black pullover sweater that can be worn over a shirt or mock turtle
• 1 black mock turtle t-shirt
• 1 white mock turtle t-shirt
• 1 white long sleeved button up shirt
• 1 white short sleeved t-shirt in case it is warm
• 3 dressy-ish tops with ¾ length sleeves - green & black print, Floral print, black & beige print
• 1 pr black cords
• 1 pr black “dress pants”
• 1 pr black travel pants
• Casual black shoes
• Grey sneakers
• Night gown
• Tide pen in case I end up wearing my dinner
• Cosmetics - Clinique does travel size most everything so Clinique it is while on vacation
• Makeup - KISS find a basic look and don’t change it up. 1 of everything you NEED, no multiples. Eyeliner, eye shadow, eyebrow powder, mascara, bronzer & lipstick!!
• Shampoo/conditioner. None (I use theirs) Optional: travel size most anything. 2 weeks of not your regular stuff isn’t the end of the world
• Spray leave in conditioner travel size
• Grey bandana for bad hair days
• Baseball cap
• Winter hat, gloves & scarf ( never used them)
• Jewelry: 4 pair earrings, 1 necklace, 2 bracelets
• Swimming suit & coverup - coverup doubles as a dress
• Toothbrush, tooth paste, dental floss, nail clippers, Chapstick, eyedrops

What I wore on the plane

• Jeans
• Burgundy “peasant “ top
• Pink blazer - turns even jeans into something dressy
• Purple cotton scarf with tassels that is practically a sarong, keeps you warm and dresses up an outfit
• Brown waterproof suede almost loafers
• Black winter raincoat

I don't expand my bag on the outbound flight which guarantees it goes in the overhead.  I allow myself the luxury of expanding it on the way back or checking it if necessary.  My "modus operandi" has always been, if you REALLY need it you can buy it.  Using that as a guide in the last 15 or so years I was only once was forced to buy something, a waterproof jacket.

Portland proclaimer 2

Little Morton Hall

 

Biddulph Hall-rack of those chimneys connects to a fireplace!

 

Farewell England and hello Denmark.  We are on a Road Scholar tour entitled Four Nordic Capitals which includes Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki.  They are quite insistent that Finland is not Scandinavian but Nordic. It all seems to have to do with language and geography . . . Enough said.

Copenhagen is a city of spires and towers, domes and cobbles, buildings from the 1500's and modern architecture, wide pedestrianized streets, narrow lanes and canals, castles and churches and a monarchy.

Editing and writing on a phone is awkward to say the least.  I believe you will be seeing captioned photos and little else.

Tivoli Gardens it is and always has been an amusement park

Believe this is a Danish castle where the crown jewels reside

We had a lunch of open faced Danish sandwiches

The little mermaid.  The original story is much darker than Disney

Garbage Incinerator with a climbing wall, ski slope, gardens, hiking paths, I believe a restaurant and elevator to the top.  Talk about multi functional

I have pretty much given up on the history.  The Danes have conquered the Swedes and visa versa.  They have married to preserve and or destroy kingdoms.  Traded princes and princesses when they ran out of family.  Norway is independent and non aligned, kinda.  And everyone has royal families with palaces and jewels.

Elsinore Castle of Hamlet fame

Portland Proclaimer

 It's been years, a new knee and COVID since I did a blog post.  I no longer have my little ASUS computer and the only camera I carry is my phone so we'll see just how crazy making this can be.  I already took the easy way out by posting pictures on Facebook.

Letocetum Roman Ruins

Shrewsbury note the Elizabeth building that is yellow rather than black and white.  This is more typical, black and white was a Victorian affection.

We began our travels with a visit to family and friends in the UK.  A National Trust pass has been our guiding light.  Castles, stately homes (aka "stately piles") and gardens are the order of the day.  No ventures to grocery stores to catalogue the enormous variety of crisps (potato chips).  However Marks and Spencer's has been the default for picnic lunches.

I know I've said it before but one would think the British housewife never prepared a complete meal.  The amount of prepackaged, pre-prepared items are phenomenal.  It's easy to pick up mini pork pies, salads, olives and fruit all packages in individual portions. No guys, muss or bother and everywhere send to have wooden cutlery.

Didn't book ahead and it was a bank holiday weekend, so it default premier in was unavailable anywhere near Macclesfield.  Splurged or Shrigley Hall.  A somewhat pretentious old building featuring a spa in a converted church.  The weather was fine, 65-70 and the Brits were out in force sunbathing and soaking in the outdoor pool.  Being a California girl it really needs to be at least 75 degrees before I'll stretch out in the sun.  Here, there wasn't a lounge chair to be had, and the amount of alcohol being consumed was remarkable.

Powys Castle

Shrewsbury

Chirk Castle

Water butt at Chirk Castle

Stopping here for now, the next edition should be better formated.

RETURN OF THE AVATAR FEBRUARY 20 2009

Some ancient history that never got shared. All these images are borrowed, I no longer know where to find the pictures I took on this trip.  Just be patient, UK and Italy will appear soon.  

This will be our second attempt at reaching Key West, Florida.  For those of you followed our previous escapade you will remember we only made it as far as West Texas.  To avoid the same problem of having too much to see we decided to beat feet for Florida and take our time coming back.  The first day out was none to auspicious, they closed the pass over the Siskiyious due to snow.  Being ever so resourceful and somewhat impatient we decided it would be fun to take the route over to the coast and down highway 101 into San Francisco and on to Redwood City to see the kids.  Not so simple as you might think.  Somewhere outside of Grants Pass, in the snow and on a narrow two lane highway, traffic came to a

Grants Pass in the Snow

halt.  Played Quiddler and listened to tunes on th Ipod while waiting two hours for the road to re-open. All the same it was a beautiful drive.  By the time we got to Crescent City the snow had turned to rain and fog.  It was one of those drippy, foggy, forest primeval sort of drives . . . all very ethereal, evocative and all those other wonderful descriptors that I can't remember.   The surf was crashing on the coast, the tide was in making great big foaming spouts on the rock and the rain poured, no problem it's all part of our adventure.

Made a quick stop in Arcata to check out the facilities in the Co-op (Ashland should be jealous) and stretch our legs and then on down the highway.  Spent the night in Ukiah cuz we simply didn't feel like driving any further.  Should recommend the motel if I could remember the name, clean and neat and a pretty darn good continental breakfast in the morning.  Of course the price of $50 a night might have a lot to do with that.  Their claim to fame, a garden full of Redwood Burl sculptures and I mean those great big ones, bears and eagles and giant benches with all kinds of creatures carved into it.  Apparently even the spa had burl sculptures.  

Smith River Canyon

Birthday celebrations in the Bay Area meant we got decent Chinese . . . there is no such thing in all of the Rogue Valley!   And of course there was a trip to Trader Joes (another of those things you miss when you choose to live in Southern Oregon) to pick up some essential like Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Triple Ginger Cookies to stock up the tent trailer before we hit the road in earnest. 

As I write we are three days out of the Bay Area and in San Antonio, Texas. A humdinger of a storm chased us down I-5 and up and over the Grape Vine day 1 (the Grape Vine for you non Californians is the road out of the Central Valley in to the Los Angeles basin.) No putting up a tent trailer in all the wind, and fortunate we were too, since the next morning they closed the pass due to snow and it poured rain in L.A. We headed east again across the desert and in to Arizona.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods

The deal was make it for Florida, no stopping and sightseeing lest we not make it. It was kinda hard not pulling off to see places we had missed before or wanted to revisit but we held strong. Texas has helped a lot, the road goes on and on and on and there doesn't seem to be much to see. A quick stop at the Tourist Information Center in Demming N.M. demonstrated why we shouldn't stop, spent 20 minutes just gossiping with the volunteer who was raised there about how it had changed.  At least the bathrooms were clean and free. There's a business there that does nothing but process chili peppers . . . I'm going back for the tour someday!! Her guess as to why they stopped growing so much cotton in Demming . . . people prefer polyester because you don't have to iron it.  

Demming N.M.

El Paso Texas felt like something out of a dystopian movie about the end of the world. All smoke and grime, mesas and canyons, strip commercial and Mexican shanties. Mexico is just across the river and whatever that city is named it stretches on and on as far as you can see. Lots of heavy industry and the "urban decay" that goes along with it . . . all I really needed to do was take out my camera. It would have been a great photo shoot. It didn't help much that road out of Las Crusas and in to El Paso was lined with feed lots. Not exactly a pleasant smell but just possibly better that the smell around Tillamook Oregon. Do you suppose Beef cattle smell better that milk cows?

You know how they say that things are bigger in Texas, well not to be out done by the Wienermobile, in California, a giant tire was seen rolling down the highway. Well maybe not truly rolling but it was a very giant tire all the same. The roads are certainly bigger (for the giant tire perhaps). Highway 10 is two lanes each direction with a median probably three or four lanes wide in between the east and west bound lanes. A lot of the median could probably be driven on in a pinch and there are shoulders wide enough to carry traffic as well. As if this were not enough considering the volume of traffic (oh, at a stretch you might have twenty vehicles in an single linear mile on a busy piece.) on one and sometimes on both sides of the travel lanes were what amounted to frontage roads. In effect 6 lanes of traffic not counting shoulders or medians. Wonder in which administration this road was built, can you say pork.

Things I have learned(?)

• Palm Springs looks like someone watered and whole bunch of houses and shopping centers sprung up.
  
• The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile's license plate is "I wish I were" . . . it passed us on I-10 somewhere in the dessert
  
• You cross the Continental Divide somewhere in New Mexico and there are no mountains to be seen
  
• Before reaching Van Horn Texas you go through two time zones
  
• You can't get to Camping World by taking Exit #2 in Texas no matter what the billboards say.
• If you want fireworks just drive I-10 in New Mexico and Texas, you can buy them year round.
• Speed limits in Texas as 80 mph but you really don't want to do more that 70ish pulling the tent trailer
• Last but not least, according to my spouse the reason we stopped seeing some many wind farms once we got well in to Texas, they don't put beans in their chili.
•  

Sightseeing tomorrow in San Antonio . . . remember the Alamo! More coming your way soon

Oops, didn't get this sent in time .  Forget the Alamo but there are other things of interest in San Antonio.

RETURN OF THE AVATAR

Well I can't make excuses as to why I haven't published any new Avatars other than laziness.  Now their are even fewer excuses with the insanity that is going on around us.  So here it is.  I assume that the majority of you are on "house arrest", sounds better than "lock down" and wouldn't mind a little travel log to pass the time.  That said . . . 2019 UK and Italy.

You may or may not be aware we booked a language intensive trip through Road Scholar for 6 weeks in Florence Italy last year.  Much more about that later.  Given that we still have family and friends in the UK that is where our journeys will begin.  First disclaimer, I am tired of carrying a big camera and multiple lenses around with me.  In the airports its a pain because they generally consider it my piece of personal carry-on and then out in the field you find yourself loaded down with gear and no time to really stop and set up the images you really want to capture.  So instead of "images" you get  snapshots.  And while there is nothing wrong with snapshots, those are what memories are made of, it ain't exactly fine art.  Long story short, I upgrade my phone to a Pixel with what purported to be a really good camera.  So never fear, there will be pictures, but it let it be known using a phone is nothing like using an SLR and I never did become comfortable with it.

  For those of you who remember my past post(s) about English crisps, potato chips; here is a new one to add to the collection of I can't believe anybody would choose to eat this.  For those unfamiliar with the British breakfast delicacy, black pudding is a blood sausage and English mustard is sinus destroying mustard whose only redeeming feature is it is HOT.  They weren't as ghastly as they sound but I would not search them out.  

Since we are already on the topic of food, I need to share the overwhelming choice of fast food establishments that we found across the street from our hotel in Leicester.  Admitedly, it is a University town and the student housing was nearby but this was pretty overwhelming.  

Let's start here . . . Fireaway, Designer Pizza in 180 Seconds, that's not even enough time to think about what toppings you might want.  Next door Peri-Peri, a spicy chicken place.   This one is new to me, but it is just a variation on a theme that was develped by Nando's.  As far as I know they were the originators of Peri-Peri Chicken and to quote from there website :

IT'S A PEPPER

PERi-PERi, also known as the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, is the key to our legendary, flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken. It’s grown in the African soil, so the magic starts from the ground up. It tastes amazing, but the benefits don’t stop there:

IT'S A SAUCE

We mix PERi-PERi with salt, garlic, lemon, onion, oil, and vinegar to make our signature sauce. Then we marinate our chicken in it for 24 hours and serve it at our restaurants across the globe. PERi-PERi sauce combines unmistakable flavor with a kick of heat that gently builds on the tongue and culminates in a full-body experience. It’s magic in a bottle.

And so here in the next block we have Nando's, (love there claims of a full-body experience) Oodles, Chinese, presumably noodles and WingShack.  Just to heap excess on top of excess I was standing in the doorway of a pub when I grabbed this shot. Carry on a little further and if my memory does not deceive, the other side of the street you get another typically British culinary delight Grand Kebabs.  If you have never experienced a Doner Kebab, it is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, sliced thinly and served in pita.  I'm guessing it is pretty much the same thing as gyro, just a different nationality.

And, of course there is Five Spice, which seems to be the name of every third Indian restaurant in this island nation. 

 
We finish our two block excursion with Flames, chaiiwala and r/bar.  My guess is that chaiiwala is a play on words, chai (blend of black tea and spices) and wallah (a person concerned or involved with a specified thing or business).  Thus a person or business involved with chai.  All these options in a place where not all that many years ago the only place to get food outside you own home was a hotel restaurant. We did not opt for any of these culinary enticements, instead we went for good old Indian.  You know the drill chicken biriyani, sag aloo (my personal favorite) plenty of rice, a dish of raita and nan.  So if those all sound foreign to you take a flyer on Indian cuisine, all of the above are pretty typical without being so exotic as to be inedible.

Ostensibly we are here to visit family so it is the traditional lunch (dinner for the English among you) at a local carvery.  There was a lot of catching up and by the time we had finished we were the only folk left in the place.  Sometimes the English place names are better than the places themselves.  An Aunt lives in Broughton Astley, a cousin in Barwell, another in Sutton in the Elms (I think), the pub was in Peatling Parva, which is not far from Peatling Magna and on the way to Willoughby Waterleys.  

Peatling Parva Church

Having fulfilled our immediate obligations to visit we joined a cousin a local fete where she was doing a demonstration of dog handling with her little pooch Scoobie.  The fete or fun day was held in a enormous field on the edge of the village.  The Brits are experts at creating an outdoor experience where there is really no other reason to be there than to be outside.  There were quasi historical re-enactments of American historical events, a car show, a canal boat show, the normal forty thieves and rides we see at county fairs, and lawn mower racing. So for your entertainment and elucidation a selections of not so inspiring pictures of the shenanigans. 

Union Forces on Parade

Steam Roller

Cowboys & Indians - always a big seller

Canal Boat

And because an English countryside shot is relaxing . . .

ttfn 

translation:  ta ta for now

retranslation: good by until next time.